Ayurvedic Hair Care Regimen for Beginners

So I know this might be something that you have never heard of before or if you have it seems really complicated. I am going to break it down in really simple terms. Based on my research this is the simplest way I can explain it:

Ayurvedic Hair Care is native to Ayurveda in India. The practice is made up of natural, herbs, powders, oils and techniques to promote hair health, growth, thickness and length. It’s a holistic approach to hair care. Indians believe that the health of the hair, skin, and nails indicates the health of the person. Basically, Ayurveda is alternative medicine that is native to India and there are forms of Ayurvedic treatments for skin, medicine, etc.

Now, there are a MILLION different mixtures you can make for home made shampoo, conditioner, scalp treatments, etc. But if you are anything like me you don’t have the time or the patience to sit there and mix up Indian herbs and powders in your kitchen.

Here is my step by step beginnerAyurvedic Hair regimenfor natural African American hair. Don’t worry, sistas with perms and color treated hair cause follow this too as well as women of all races.

I went to the local Indian Grocery Store here in Dallas. I chose Taj Mahal Imports located in Richardson, Texas because of the large selection of hair products they carry

It’s in the same shopping center as Heena’s hair salon.

**Side Note ** At Heena’s they do the best eyebrow threading in Dallas. For real! and it’s only $4. I go there regularly and I usually see Kira ( I’m not sure how to spell her name) she’s usually the one with a line of women waiting to see her. She’s the best one there.

Any who, after a bit of internet research these are the products I bought at Taj Mahal:

This is Brahmi Oil with Ayurvedic hair medicine mixed in (saving me some time). It was $6.99. This is to be used for Ayurvedic hair massage which is supposed to stimulate hair growth. I’ll explain in more detail below. **side note** it has a very distinct herb-y smell so brace your self for that lol

This is Coconut Hair Oil by Parachute. This is supposed to be used as a pre-shampoo treatment. I will explain in more detail below.

This is a root strengthening shampoo by Dabur Vatika (a recommended brand on a few other hair blogs I visited) it has deep conditioner enriched with coconut milk and almond.

If you have a little bit more time you can try shampooing your hair with a simple ayurvedic powder mix. Here is the recipie:

Mix the powders together with enough water to make a paste. Apply the mixture on wet hair and gently rub the mixture on your scalp and then move down the hair. Allow it to sit 15 minutes and rinse throughly with cool water. Follow up with an apple cider vinegar rinse to get rid of any excess powder particles. Mix 1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar with 2 cups of water and pour over your head.

Here is the step by step instructions

1. You are going to start with a pre-shampoo hot oil treatment and scalp massage. This is supposed to condition the scalp, reduce dandruff, increase blood circulation of the scalp which in turn stimulates hair growth. I mixed equal parts of the Brahmi Oil and the Coconut oil (a little more than a tablespoon of each)

**side note the scalp massage can be done after the shampoo using smaller portions of oil so it is left in on the scalp, like a leave in conditioner, it’s supposed to be even better if left on for a while. This is up to your personal preference. If you do decide to do it after the shampoo, use the coconut oil only as a hot oil treatment first, then shampoo, then do the scalp massage**

**Oil heating tip

Use a double broiler method because warming the oils in microwave causes them to lose some of their nutrients and beneficial properties.

Get a small sauce pot and fill halfway with water, and bring to a boil
Place a small bowl so it sits on top of the pot opening [like a double broiler]
Add an equal mixture of the two oils. (I used a little more than a table spoon each)

Test with your finger until the oil is luke warm. You don’t want to burn your scalp!

Take it off the heat and use your finger and mix it evenly. Then dip the tip of your fingers into the oil mixture and begin massaging your scalp in a circular motion . Keep re-applying oil to different parts of your scalp until the scalp is covered evenly.

Massage your scalp for about 5-10 min.

Leave the oil on your hair for 30-60 min (massage time included)

2. Shampoo hair with the Dabur Vaticka shampoo or the powder mix and rise with warm water

3. I havent quite mastered and tested the powder conditioner mix yet bt here is the simplest mixture I could find.

Conditioner Mix
4 tbs Hibiscus Petal Powder
4 tbs Marshmallow Root Powder
3 tbsp Amla Powder
In a medium size bowl, mix all ingredients together with enough spring water to make a thick paste. Gently section your hair, and use an applicator brush to generously apply the mixture starting at the scalp, and working your way down the hair shaft. Cover with a plastic cap and allow mixture to sit on head for about 45minutes-hour.

Rise with warm water and from here you can use your usual styling products for your hair and style as normal. Your hair should feel softer and look shinier than usual.

4. My styling product: I used the say yes to cucumbers leave in conditioner and let my hair air dry.

5. Voila! Soft, shiny hair (my hair is not quite done yet because I’m writing this as I’m doing it so I will post a finished pic later)

I am going to continue my Ayurvedic hair regimen for a few months and see how it affects my hair growth. It is recommended to do the scalp massages with the Brahmi Oil up to 3 times a week, so I am going to try that. Looking at all of the hair blogs , I have seen some amazing results in other women’s hair ! I will keep you guys posted on changes/additions to my regimen. Hope this was helpful. If you have any questions leave a comment or email me!

**I got my shampoo and conditioner powder recipes from the moptop maven’s hair blog. I have to give credit where credit is due. She has an amazing hair blog and I use her recipes from time to time to incorporate into my hair regimen.

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